JACKSON COACH PLAYED AT CENTRAL

Carl Gross coaches Jackson football.

He talks Jackson football. He walks Jackson football. He teaches Jackson football.

In short, Carl Gross is Jackson football.

But when it comes down to his playing days, Gross once donned Cape Central orange and black.

It's impossible to tell these days that Carl Gross once tore up the field as a Tiger. A standout player in his high school days at Central, Gross went on to play at Southeast Missouri State University.

But those days are far gone, and now, after 20 years at Jackson, there's no doubt where Gross' loyalties lie.

"I've been in Jackson so long that everyone considers me an Indian," Gross said. "If you cut me now, I'd bleed Indian red."

Gross said the Cape Central-Jackson rivalry is bigger now than it was when he played. Gross played during an era when Cape Central dominated Jackson almost every year.

"Cape was so much bigger and Jackson was on some lean times back then," Gross said. "Everybody expected you to beat Jackson big or you weren't very good. But Jackson has continued to grow. If you would've asked me 30 years ago if Jackson would be a bigger school than Central, I don't think I would've ever dreamed it."

Gross said the rivalry's intensity picked up in the early 1980s when the games became more competitive. Since 1980, the teams are tied at 10 wins apiece, but Jackson has won five of the last six games.

Gross said his assistant coaches, all of whom have been involved in this rivalry for many years, take on the same mentality of the community.

"If you're 1-9 and beat Cape Central, it's a successful year," he said.

Gross said none of his old high school buddies, who include Central athletic director Terry Kitchen, tease him too much for changing colors.

"People I went to high school with have been real supportive," he said. "They root for the Tigers and I appreciate that, but if we go to the playoffs, a lot of them will come root us on.

"I played with a lot of class guys."